Store-service apparatus



l No. 376,897Y -Patented Jan'. A

(No Modl.) V v v 2 Shee'tis--Sheeiy'Zl C. W. MCCORMIK. A

STORE SERVIGE APPARATUS.

- VUNITED ASTATES PATENIr Grauen.V i

. 'VICHARLES W. MOCORMICK, OF'VEMPORIA., KANSAS.

s ToRE-SERVICE. APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.,376,897, dated January24, 1888.

I Application filed August 10, 188.7. Serial No. 246,566. (No model.) i

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, CHARLES W. MCCOR- MIOK, a citizen of the UnitedStates of America, residing at Emporia, in the county of Lyon and Stateof Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inStore-Service Apparatus; and I do hereby declare the follow- 1 -ing tobe a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as willenable others skilled in the art Yto which it appertains to make and usethe same, reference being had to the accom'- panying drawings, and toletters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part ofthis specification.

This invention relates to storefserviceap paratus.

The invention has for its obj ect a propulsion device which normallyholds the carriage' against movement, but'automatically rotates aquarter-turn and releases said carriage upon l being operated to propelit toward the' opposite end of the track or way. I

A further object ofthe invention is to so arrange the socket. whichreceives the open end of the cash-holding receptacle that 'the latterwill be held firmly against the locking-hooks by'a spring-pressure,whichprevents rattling.

With these objects in view the invention consists in novel features andcombinations,

which will be hereinafter fully described,and-

the carriage and cash-box. Fig. 5 is a section.l

through line w x, Fig. l. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of theslides. Fig. 7 is an end view of the casing, showing the angular orificein the cap or guide and the push-bar having a cross-sectional contourcorresponding to said oriice. `Fig. 8 is a perspective view in detail ofthe push-bar andthe head of the guide, showing the operation of thepush-bar.

The improvements to be described are de-4 l5o signed to be used with asingle-Wire gravity apparatus, and have been so illustrated; but itwillbe understood that they may be readily vadapted to other styles ofapparatus in which propelling means areused at the tracktermini, andwhere the cash-box is suspended from a carriage. Indeed, in many oftheapparatus now known or in use my improvements may 1 be used withoutthe necessity of adaptation.

Between rigid supports A A', suspended from the ceiling, is secured aninclined trackwire, B, the lower end being xed to the snp`ly i port Ainproximity to a storecounter,and the upper end being fixed to the supportA within reach of the cashiers desk. To the lower end of support A isrigidly secured a two-part casing, C G', provided internally withparallel grooves or ways c, toreceive splines or feathersd, projectingfrom either side of slides D'D, the casing being provided at rear with axed stud, c', and on its lower side, near the front, with a boss, c2,within which is journaled asinall vgroovedpulley, ci. To the stud c issecured one end `of a cord, E, the free end being passedover a groovedpulley, d', journaled in the slide D, and thencecarried to and securedin the rear cross-piece of the'slide D', as shown in Fig. 1. "Tothefront endY lof this slide 1) is swiveled the rear end of' a push-bar, F,the frontend of which protrudes beyondjthe case, and is provided atopposite sides with ,barbs or dukes f, forming an arrow-head. Thepush-bar is encircled within the case by a coiled spring, j", the forceof which is exerted toward the rear, the push-bar being so constructedwith-,relation to the case that it will be given a quarter-revolution asit is forced forward in opposition to the pressure f of the spring f tocause the barbs f to be shifted froma horizontal toa vertical position.For convenience and simplicityl of manufacture, I prefer to attain thisend by the means f shown-fthat is, by constructing 'the bar F of alength of metal square (or angular) in crosssection and twisting it aquarter-turn axially, in order that as'it is-forced forward through thesquared aperture in the cap or guide C2 at thef forward end of thecasing it will be'rotated a quarter-turn. It will be u nderstood,however, that the'same end may be attained in other ways well known inmechanics-fas, for instance, the bar may be round in cross-section andprovided with one or more spirally-arranged ribs to engage a guide-slotin the cap G2.

IOO

To avoid i expense, I prefer to swivel the'rear end. of the push-bar Fto the slide D' by providing the forward end of said slide with twocross-pieces notched from opposite sides, as shown in Fig. 6, thereduced rear end of the bar fitting within said notches.

The two parts C C' of the case are similarly formed, (except that thepart C is provided with a threaded stud, c, to engage a threaded socketat the lower end of the support A,) and are united by screws or otherwell-known means, the forward ends being threaded after assemblage toreceive the cap C2.

A pull-cord, E', is secured to the forward end of the slide D, an-d,after passing over pulley c, extends through an opening in the caseformed for the purpose.

At the elevated end of the track, near the cashiers desk, a casing, G,is secured to support A', said casing Vbeing provided with a shortpush-bar, H, also formed to be given a quarterrevolution to release thecarriage upon being projected to start said carriage toward the oppositeend of the line. As this casing, however, is at the higher end of theinclined track, and the carriage upon being released will travel forwardby gravity, it is not necessary that the push-bar H should travelforward so'great a distance or so rapidly, and therefore in this casingI have omitted the slides and pull-cord, and in lieu thereof haveextended the push-bar rearward beyond the case and `fitted its rear endwith a swiveled hand-piece, so that in impelling the push-bar forward torelease the carriage it may turn within said hand-piece.

The carriage consists of a casting, I, having upwardly-extending ears orlugs i, between which the track wheels or lrollers i are journaled, andI prefer that there be arranged beneath these rollers small keeper-rollsi2, to p reveut the track-ro1ls 'i' from jumping.

At each end of the casting I is secured a pair of spring-jaws, K, theouter ends of ,which are beveled inwardly, forming hooks k, to engagethe arrow-head of the push-bar. Depending from the center of thiscasting is the top or cover L of the cash-box. I prefer to Vconstructthis cover L of spun or stamped sheet metal, the lower end of thedepending iange Zhavin g an inturned edge, forming shoulders, with whichthe spring-catches m of the cash-box proper, M, engage. From the top ofthis socket are cut ears L', which are bent upwardly and secured bybolts or rivets to the casting I, spring tongues F being also vcut fromthe metal of the socket to exert a downward pressure upon the upper edgeof 4the cash-box and keep the spring-catches m closely in engagementwith the inturned edge of the flange l, to prevent rattling of thecash-box during transmission of the carriage from one point to another.

Each end of the casting I is provided with a rubber buffer, i3, betweenthe spring-jaws, to

u receive the impact of the push-bar F or H and cushion the blow.

Owing to the arrangement of the slides and cord within the casing C C',the push-bar can be projected, to impel the carriage forward, twice t-hedistance and with twice the rapidity of the movement of the hand inpulling the pull-cord E'. This is rendered possible by means of theconnection of the cord E with the flxedstud within the casing and withthe slide D' after passing over the pulley in slide D-an 'arrangementwell understood in mechanics.

The track-wire B, I prefer to arrange as shown in the drawings, theendspassing through open ings in the supports A A', and leading thenceyto some fixed point, where they are secured;

and to properly align the track-wire with the forward end of the casingI provide the cap C2 with a slotted post having a set-screw to securethe wire within said slot.

1. In a store service apparatus, the combination, with the track and itssupports, of -a guide arranged parallel to the track and provided withan angular guide-orifice andapushbar mounted within said guide andhaving a twist in its body to engage theangles of the guide-orifice,substantially as before set forth.

2. In a store-service apparatus, the c ombination, with the track andits supports, of the casing secured to one of said supports and havingan angular guide-orifice, a swiveled push-bar having spiraled ribs orangles to engage the guide-orifice of the casing and provided at itsforward protruding end with an arrow-head, and a carriage provided withhooked jaws engaging the barbs of said arrowhead when the push-bar is inits retracted position, substantially as described,

3. The combination, with the line-wire and its supports, of the casingsecured adjacent one end of the line-wire, a push-bar swiveled at itsinner end to a slide mounted in grooves within the casing, a slidemounted to move beside the push-bar and provided with a' pulley, a fixedstud, a grooved pulley mounted in lugs in the easing, and the cordsconnected to said slides,

substantially as described.

4. A store-service apparatus consisting of a casing provided withparallel grooves or ways, agfixed stud, a grooved pulley mounted inlugs, a slide, D, arranged to move in one set of vways and provided witha pulley, a slide, D', arranged to move in the other set of ways, a cap,a push-bar swiveled at its rear end to the slide D' and provided at itsfor/ward protruding end with an arrow-head, a spring pressing rearwarduponV the push-bar, a cord passing from the fixed stud over the pulleyinslide D and connected to slide D', and a cord connected to slide D andpassing over pulley c3 to the exterior of the case, substantially'asdescribed.

5. A store-service apparatus consisting of a -case provided at itsforward end with a cap having an angular aperture, a push bar properhavinga cross-sectional contour to t the aperture of said cap andtwisted a quarterturn on its own axis, a spring pressing rearwardly uponsaid bar, and means to propel l'OO vIIO

316,897 a* f y 3 thebar forward in Vopposition to the spring,substantially as described.

6. The combination, with the supports and track suspended therefrom, ofa case having an angular guideorice, `a slide within the case, apush-bar connected at its rear end to a slide by a swivel4 and havingspiral ribs or angles and provided at its forwardend with anarrow-head,a carriage mounted upon the track and provided at its endswith hooked springjaws to engage the barbs of the arrow-head, a. springpressing rearwardly upon the push-bar, and means to propel the push-barforward in opposition to the spring.

7. A cash-box for storeservice apparatus, consisting, substantially asbefore set forth, of a cover, the lower edge of the flange of which isinturned to form a shoulder, and having downwardly-pressing springs cutfrom the metal of said cover at the top,and a receptacle provided withspringcatches to engage said inturned shoulder, substantially asdescribed.

10. In a store-serviceV apparatus, the combination, with a guide mountedrelatively to al track or way and having a square orifice, of adirect-actingpush-bar or starter constructedv` ot about the samedimensions as the orice in the guide and formed with a single twist inthe body thereof, mounted in and having a quarter-revolution whenpropelled from said guide,

substantially as described.

411. In a store-service apparatus, the combination, with a track or wayand its supports, of a guide supported relatively thereto and Aformedwith a square orice,a sprihg-actuated push-bar or starter having asingletwist inits body,mounted insaid guide and adapted to be ropelledtherefron1,and pull-cords of shorter ength than the said vpush-bar,which are adapt- Ved when operated to propel the said bar forn l' wardits entire length, whereby the power applied is concentrated upon thepush-bar by a limited amountof extraneous exertion, substantiallyasdescribed. ,i

In testimony whereof Iafflx my signature in v presence of two witnesses.,o l. yCHARLES W. MOCORMICK.

Witnesses: n l J. B. .WIMER,

C.l A. NEALE.

